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Ask the Doctors – Should I worry if my baby rolls over while sleeping?

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April 6, 2018

Ask the Doctors – Should I worry if my baby rolls over while sleeping?

By Ask the Doctors

Dear Doctors: We have always been careful to put our son to sleep on his back to prevent SIDS, but he has recently started turning over by himself and we find him on his stomach. Should we prevent this?

Dr. Elizabeth Ko and Dr. Eve Glazier

You’re right – placing infants on their backs to sleep greatly reduces the rate of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), the leading cause of death in infants between one month and 1 year old. About 1,500 infants die of SIDS each year in the U.S., with most of the cases occurring in babies younger than six months old.

The good news is that once your baby is able to turn over by himself, which happens at about six months, his brain is developed enough to alert him to breathing problems. Rolling over is an important part of his development and he should be allowed to do so.

You should continue to place him on his back when you put him down to sleep, but according to guidelines published by the National Institutes of Health, you don’t need to return him to his back when he turns over. At that point, it’s OK to let your baby choose his sleep position.